Thank you for understanding: Foreign Airlines announces plan to Sell Tickets to Nigerians in Dollars
- No fewer than 32 airlines have come together and agreed to sell their tickets to Nigerians in US dollars
- According to the Airlines, the dollar scarcity in the country is hurting operations as they can no longer get dollars to send home their profits
- Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, revealed in March that foreign airlines’ trapped fund in Nigeria was about N117 billion ($283million)
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Foreign airlines operating in Nigeria have agreed to charge Nigerians who want to fly outside the country to buy their tickets in dollars.
According to the Punch, the new development will begin on Tuesday, April 19, 2022.
International airlines on APG Interline Electronic Ticketing Agreements GP code 275 will be affected by the new ticketing system.
Source: Getty Images
The airlines involved
South African Airways, South African Airways, Fly Dubai, Kenya Airways, Middle East Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, Rwanda Air, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines, French Bee, Egypt Air, ASKY, Air Seychelles, Air Algerie, and Air Namibia are among the notable airlines on the APG IET platforms.
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Other airlines include Air Panama, Air Burkina Faso, Avianca, Bangkok Airways, Cabo Verde Airlines, Fiji Airways, Hong Kong Airlines, and Malaysian Air.
The Tribune also reports that the airlines' changes were made owing to the difficulties in repatriating airline funds that were stranded in Nigeria and other countries, as well as foreign exchange fluctuations.
The statement reads:
“APG IET: Restrictions of Sales in US Dollars”, APG said, “Dear travel partners, warm greetings from APG. This is to bring to your notice that with effect from April 19, 2022, GP would only accept issuing of tickets in US dollars and not naira.
“This is mainly due to repatriation issues and the forex situation in the country. This would most likely be a temporary measure till the forex situation improves. Our sincere apologies for any inconveniences this may cause to you and your business. Thank you for understanding”.
Naira in trouble
If the airlines charge Nigerians in dollars, the Naira would suffer because travellers will have to out of desperation get dollars from the black market to purchase tickets.
As of the close of Wednesday's session, the Naira was trading at over N590 to the dollar on the black market, and it might reach the N600/$ level if the airlines' plan goes through.
Government begins investigation on fare hike by Nigerian Airlines for Domestic Travels, Orders Reversal
Legit.ng has reported that the federal government has ordered domestic airlines to reverse the recent hike in airfares on domestic routes.
Babatunde Irukera, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive, of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission(FCCPC ), gave the order revealing that the airlines' operators might have together agreed on airfares hike in a meeting at Abuja.
According to him, it is wrong for competitors to come together and agree to fix a price, the Punch reports.
Source: Legit.ng
